The roof and walls of mines and other underground structures are typically reinforced utilizing various strengthening and support techniques. One such support and reinforcement technique is to drill bore holes into the rock and insert resin cartridges into the bore holes. The resin cartridges typically contain a resin and an activator which are contained within a casing and separated from one another. Multiple cartridges are often utilized for each reinforcement bore hole.
Once sufficient resin cartridges have been inserted into the bore hole, a long metal bolt is forced into the hole and through the resin cartridges while being rotated. Such penetrates the cartridges and mixes the resin and activator initiating the solidification process about the bolt. Upon curing of the resin the retained bolt/resin mixture provides reinforcement to the surrounding geologic structure within which it's received. The cured resin epoxy can be at least eight times stronger than rock.
A number of techniques exist by which resin cassettes (also known as sausages) are inserted into bore holes. One method is to insert each cassette manually and force the cassettes into the bore hole utilizing a bar or pipe. Such technique can be awkward and unsafe. The mechanical resin cartridge inserters available can be overly long. Both the water powered and air powered inserters can be difficult to align with the bore hole. Additionally, water powered inserters are limited to wet drilling operations. It is desirable to develop alternative resin cartridge inserters and methods of inserting resin cartridges.